Good morning 🐣

Looks like I’m featuring Lee Hardcastle short films two weeks in a row. You’re welcome! Here’s his one-minute claymation short titled Snolly in Shrek’s Swamp, in which a creepy Donkey lures an axolotl into an even creepier Shrek-laced trap. It’s absurdist and fun.

Even more unhinged is this feature-length shot-for-shot remake of the original Shrek but with handmade costumes and sets and the dialogue done completely in ASMR. (ASMR stands for “autonomous sensory meridian response” and there are countless YouTube videos out there meant to invoke a “tingly” response through a whole lot of whispering.) The artist, Gibi ASMR aka Gina, collaborated with almost 80 other ASMR creators to make this true labor of love. Speaking with Zoë Hannah at Polygon, Gina quite accurately says, “The global unifier is Shrek. Everyone loves Shrek.”

“The global unifier is Shrek. Everyone loves Shrek.” — It’s a statement I’ve tried to hammer home again and again over the years. And sure enough Shrek, a movie that is well over 20 years old, immediately shot to #1 on Netflix when it debuted there earlier this year.

So you’ve got artists to this day pouring their hearts into something that’s decades old and viewers clamoring to rewatch these films again and again. I guess my point is the people want more Shrek. And it looks like Hollywood has finally heard our pleas. A fifth film is set to be released in 2026, a full 16 years since the last installment, with all of the original voice cast returning.

But is that soon enough?

Here in the U.S., we’re deeply divided. Many Americans claim to hate each other. We’re on the brink of major change in this country — Election Day is tomorrow — and no matter who wins, many Americans will be despondent. But it doesn’t have to be this way. It doesn’t have to be a Shrekpocalypse. Rather, it can be a Shrektopia. Together we can be part of something bigger, a global movement to add a little kindness and understanding back into the world, to leave it a better place than how we found it. As Gina said, “The global unifier is Shrek.”

You know what’s coming…

That’s right; prepare yourselves, Shrekologists, for another FIVE STRAIGHT DAYS of Shrek content.

Shrek the Third was released 17 years ago and though it’s easily the least successful chapter in the Shrek Saga, it still has a lot to teach us. The King has died and many players are jockeying to succeed him. As your resident swamp correspondent, I’m here to shed a little light on the ballot, chat with hardworking Far Far Away-ians at the local diner, dive into conspiracy theories, and so much more!

So be sure to check your e-mail every day until Friday.

IT’S SHREK WEEK 2024, BABYYYY! LET’S GO!!

See you tomorrow! 💚